Fiesta- A Good Reason To Have A Party

The one thing that I remember most from my travels were the sheer amount of Fiesta’s everything from parties in a private house to street parties to fiestas or fetes involving the town or city. Although religious events are often celebrated the biggest been Semana Santa at Easter, overall, any excuse seems to be a good reason to hold a party for the fun-loving Spanish.

Fiesta or Fete translates to a party, holiday or feast and usually its a mix of all three. The verb is festejar which is to celebrate, and this certainly the case from what I has seen.

In Barcelona in August, the neighbourhood of Gràcia explodes into celebration. The Festa Major de Garcia lasts a week, in the day and evening. Taking part in over 20 streets in Gràcia. Although drinking, dancing and partying dominate the evening, the festival also features cultural activities and a fire run (correc) as well as activities for children during the day.

I feel that certainly the street events brought the communities together much more than in the UK. Both young and old taking part. Although the recent pandemic has affected this and people in Britain are now more community- spirited than previously. I spent several months working in a rural location in Andalusia and the nearest small village held fiestas regularly with everyone in the village attending. Every village, no matter how small, has its own, unique celebrations.

Whilst thousands of festivals are celebrated all over Spain throughout the year there are only a few that bring overseas visitors specifically for the event. In mid- March the Falles Festival takes place. It’s a traditional celebration held in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The term Falles refers to both the celebration and the monuments burnt during the celebration. It has been declared an event of Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The whole of the city becomes an enormous street party, with parades, paella competitions and bullfights. Each night there is a firework display culminating in La Nit de Foc on the 18th March. The following night la Cremà takes place when all the ‘ninots’ which have been stuffed full with fireworks are burnt.

The official focus for the festival is San José, the patron saint of carpenters. Starting in the Middle Ages, carpenters hung planks of wood called ‘parots’ in the winter to support their candles whilst working. In spring these pieces of wood were burned as a way of celebrating the end of winter. After a while they began to put clothing on the ‘parot.’ These became the forerunners of the contemporary ‘ninots’ the enormous papier-mâché figures of today. It’s a loud, busy, colourful festival, not for the faint-hearted but a wonderful experience.

Medieval history is celebrated in many of the festivals in Spain. The annual Medieval fair in Capdepera, in Majorca, is set in the streets leading up to the Medieval castle that overlooks the town and is a popular event for adults and children alike. Blacksmiths, silversmiths, carpenters, shoemakers and ceramists are among the long list of artisans who offer Medieval inspired products to sell. Expect to see jousting, jugglers, falconry displays, stilt-walkers and fire-eaters. Traditional food and drink stalls are scattered throughout the event selling all kinds of Medieval fair. It wouldn’t be a Spanish fair without an excessive amount of food! The finale is a walk up to the castle by candlelight, which was atmospheric and an unforgettable memory.

 A similar festival takes place in Ibiza. To celebrate the declaration of Ibiza's Dalt Vila as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, every May the old- town hosts vibrant celebrations including three days of street parties, musical performances, artists and medieval re-enactments. As an added bonus, entry to all galleries and museums in Dalt Vila is free during the festival.

If you are planning a holiday do look in the local guides and see what is going on as not only is this great, often free entertainment it’s a wonderful way to see the culture and understand the history of the area.Many festivals have been cancelled for 2020 but I am sure they will be back with a great big bang in 2021.

Celebrating Foods from the Land

As I have mentioned in my previous blog posts, farming and the crops produced play a large part of the economy of Spain. Much of the produce for Europe is grown. Traditions are often passed on from generation to generation. Now some of the festas associated with food today do attract visitors and tourists are important financially but these festivals celebrating food and the land mean far more to the locals than just money.

The Mantaca- is a family affair, once a year, on this day the famous Black Majorcan pig – Porcella Negra is slaughtered, the butcher is the matador, every section of the pig is used and preparation tasks are allocated to all the family and guests, after the work is done, food and drink is offered to all those  taking part on the day and the evening is a festa of music and dancing after the hard work is done. In some ways this seems a bit gruesome to us, but in a farming community these customs were about the survival for the villages in the winter months and everyone helped. Rural traditions have gone into decline, but in 2019, in Campos, in Majorca, a day dedicated to the Balearic sausage- from the Majorcan black pig was started this is called the Feria de la Sobrasada. Many similar days take place and now these show the gastromery of the  local cuisine to tourists.

 In Extremadura in central Spain, El Festival Trasfornterizo del Gurumelo, is a festival for a rare mushroom local to the area. Gurumelo mushrooms are difficult to find so hundreds of people turn out to look for them and enjoy the food stalls, tasters and workshops.

Sa Festa d’s Melo in Villafranca De Bonnay in September, has taken place since 1994, the climax of the day been the Concurs d’Es Melo, the biggest melon competition, a highlight in the local farmers (Meloners) calendar, there’s also a melon eating competition as well as a melon lantern festival in the evening.

Many of the festas celebrating foods from the lands are linked to harvesting, a way of having some enjoyment after the hard work is done.

LLubi, also in the centre of the island (the Pla) there are bee-keeping traditions that have gone on for centuries. Honey was once only for the upper classes. Now in June, everyone can try foods, drink even soap made from honey.

In Colonia De Sant Jordi in April there is a festival to celebrate Ses Santines, giving tours of the saltworks and giving tasters of salt-cured foods and the many varieties of salt, which is a natural resource from the island.

Later on, in the year in October is the Feria Del Pimento in Felanitix, in honour or Red peppers a key ingredient in many of the local dishes.

Sa Pobla, in the centre of Majorca is famous for growing potatoes, many end up been sold in the UK.  in June there is an evening called Fra Nocturina de La Patatas. The main square, is filled with food stalls selling typical Majorcan dishes featuring Potato as a key ingredient like: Tumblet, Coca da Patatas and Bunyols but also more creative dishes like: Ice Cream, Potato and apple strudel and Potato Brownie. The prices are very affordable and are tapas sized so you can try lots of different dishes, it does get very busy.  I really enjoyed this night and tasted some very unusual food and was surprised at how much potatoes can be used in cooking.

During the year, you will be able to find a local festa for all sorts of different foods, herbs and drinks as well as local artisan markets with a range of local foods and delicacies. It is well worth going to these to sample a real taste of the local culture.